The move comes as Trump aims to leverage China — North Korea’s only major ally — to apply more economic pressure on Pyongyang to deter its nuclear and missile programmes. However, an administration official told The Associated Press the move is unrelated to the isolated regime.

The Trump administration wants to look into practices forcing American companies to share intellectual property in order to access the Chinese market. Washington says the tactic can hurt economic growth.

The U.S. could potentially take action independently or with the World Trade Organization.

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